5 Things You Didn't Know: Escorts

Although the thrust of what they offer is basically the same, escorts or call girls can be distinguished as something completely different than prostitutes. Escort services generally restrict their hires to attractive, personable women without visible drug problems. Men who use escort services tend to be far more discerning clients than the typical john, and often enlist escorts for actual escorting services, such as for dinner and drinks, in addition to — or even in lieu of — sexual services.

Use of paid sexual services is a more prevalent practice than you think. In 1992, the National Health and Social Life Survey indicated that around 20% of American men paid for sex at least once. And that's probably a slightly low estimate, since there's good reason to believe that some of the survey participants chose not to offer full disclosure. So, though you might have a hard time getting one in five of your friends to admit that they've visited an escort, the sheer volume of sex services advertised on the internet says otherwise. With that in mind, here are five things you may not have known about escorts.

1- Escorts are rated on the internet

In this age of blogging, it is increasingly common for advocates and "experts" everywhere to take to the internet and offer both solicited and unsolicited opinions on any number of topics. As such, it should come as no surprise that the practice of rating and offering advice on choosing a particular escort has extended to the web.

On sites like BigDoggie.net, TheEroticReview.com and TopKitten.com customers offer ratings regarding the services of certain escorts and agencies as a public reference for others to browse. Of course, such sites are potentially victim to the usual pitfalls of anonymous internet postings, as agencies and escorts can plant positive comments to falsely tout themselves. On the flip side, customers have been known to blackmail escorts with the threat of giving a bad rating unless extra sexual services were offered.

2- Escorts go on tour

It may not invoke the type of glamour seen during a Led Zeppelin world tour (though the debauchery scales are probably reasonably comparable), but in Western Europe the practice of "City Tours" for escorts has become a more prevalent phenomenon. In essence, escorts leave home to increase their income streams.

On these tours, call girls from the more economically depressed Eastern European countries, such as the Ukraine and Hungary, are brought into Western European cities for two-week stays to service a parade of wealthy johns. Agencies book a room in a business hotel for each escort, who then receive customers all day long. Escorts are often exploited and overworked in these setups, but often go along due to the lucrative nature of the work.

3- Escorts can make a lot of money

Well, at least some escorts are able to. For the most part, North American escorts who work for respectable agencies pull in anywhere from $150 to $400 per hour, depending upon demand and services offered. More distinguished escorts (those with particular skills, fetishes, specialties or great beauty) can charge in excess of that. Finally, very high-class escorts, especially those catering to an executive clientele, can pull in around $1,000 per hour.